For as long as computers have existed, system administrators and users have been concerned about disasters and disaster recovery when components within a computer system eventually fail. Such disasters and failures are frustrating because they may cause data loss, computer lock-up and crashes, or total failure of the computer to boot upon restarting.
Historically, there have been two approaches to disaster recovery. The first is a backup solution whereby data from the hard drive is periodically copied to removable media (e.g., tape or removable disks) in effort to minimize the impact of such failures. Such backup solutions are relatively straightforward, but require that the user or system administrator implement a plan to routinely backup selected or all files from the hard drive to the removable media. In the event that files become corrupted or are deleted or lost, an archive version of the files can be restored from the removable media to the computer's long-term storage device (e.g., hard disk). If the disaster is of such a magnitude that the computer is unusable, the files may be restored to another computer.
A key disadvantage of this first method is that it requires the user to perform regular backups. Accordingly, the user's data is protected only up to date and time the last backup was performed. Therefore, it is possible that users may lose days, weeks, or possible all of their data. This is especially the case with home users who rarely, if ever, perform regular backups of data.
The second approach is a repair solution whereby recovery software attempts to remedy the cause of a failure without the need for a user to perform a restore operation. Such recovery software may reside on the computer's hard disk, in memory as a terminate and stay resident (TSR) application, or may be stored on a bootable floppy disk (recovery/rescue disk). The recovery software attempts to correct invalid CMOS settings, corrupted drive partition tables, system file integrety, boot sectors, etc. Some recovery software performs routine preventative maintenance functions such as disk defragmentation, copying selected critical files and settings to a safe location (e.g., a floppy disk or other portion of the hard drive), and system diagnostics. In the event of a failure or error, the user runs the recovery software from the hard disk or the floppy recovery disk to boot the system and to attempt to correct the cause of the failure.
A problem with conventional recovery utilities is that when a computer fails to boot from the hard disk, the bootable recovery disk only provides a user with a command line environment. For example, the disaster recovery software may boot the computer to a prompt (e.g., a DOS prompt such as A:.backslash.&gt;). Therefore, the user is not provided with a user-friendly and familiar graphical user interface (GUI). This is a particular problem because of the popularity of operating systems that utilize graphical user interfaces (e.g., Windows 9X, Windows NT, and the Macintosh OS). Further compounding the problem is the number of newer computer users who are unaccustomed with the command line syntax of the operating system commands.
Conventional disaster recovery utilities may add to the confusion by requiring the user to remember yet additional commands to execute the various recovery features. It is also likely that recovery software may includes only limited documentation and on-line help. These problems increase the level of frustration experienced by users who are worried about losing sensitive data, and lead to a large number of telephone calls, facsimiles and E-mails to technical support personnel. This is especially so given the ever increasing number of first time purchasers of computer systems. As the number of users of personal computers continues to grow, technical support departments will stretched further to their limits to accommodate support calls.
A reason for the problems and limitations of known disaster recovery software is the relatively low capacity of the bootable floppy disk. Conventional computer systems include at least one 31/2" floppy disk drive having a capacity of 1.44 MB. The 31/2" floppy disk only provides enough storage capacity to boot a computer to a limited environment and does not have the storage capacity to allow the computer to boot to the more user friendly graphical user interface. Another reason for the limitations of known disaster recovery utilities is that when operating systems such as Windows are installed, they are configured to include specific drivers and libraries based on the computer's hardware setup (e.g., video card, modem, hard disk controller, sound board, etc.). Therefore, it is difficult for manufacturers of recovery software utilities to provide a recovery disk that will include a compatible set of drivers for every possible configuration of computer hardware available on the market. While attempts have been made to launch the operating system with a generic set of drivers having the most basic of functionalities (e.g., Windows 9X "safe mode"), such attempts are lacking because they do not provide for disaster recovery, require that the computer be booted from the hard disk, and do not provide access to all of the peripherals attached to the computer as not all drivers are loaded when the operating system is launched. Further, such attempts are generally limited to resolving incompatibility problems within the operating system itself (e.g., incompatible drivers).
In view of the above, there is a need for a disaster recovery system having enhanced capabilities which is capable of booting a computer to an operating environment that is familiar to the user. In particular, there is a need for the capability to launch the operating system and graphical user interface from removable media so that users are not dependent on booting from the hard disk drive. Further, there is a need for a disaster recovery system which may be quickly and easily tailored to a specific machine and capable of detecting and repairing errors with little or no user interaction. Yet further, there is a need for a disaster recovery system which will enable a user to gain access to computer system and transfer files from an abnormally operating computer system to another computer system. Such an enhanced disaster recovery system will reduce calls to technical support personnel, allow users to fix problems without the need for help, reduce recovery time from critical system failures, increase productivity and system usability, and place users at ease.